Prime Minster Shaukat Aziz has identified law and order, employment generation, stability of prices, good governance and streamlining of the judicial process principal goals of his government. He said this while chairing the first meeting of the newly installed Federal Cabinet here on Wednesday.
Welcoming the ministers, the prime minister said that the new Cabinet should be result-oriented and not activity driven.
He said that the performance of the new Cabinet would be judged by its achievements and deliveries to the people.
"Efficient management is the key to good governance and that is what he would expect from his Cabinet colleagues," he added.
The prime minister appreciated the prompt response from most of the ministers who have identified their quantifiable goals and targets, which, he said, would be quarterly reviewed to facilitate and ensure their implementation.
From these goals and targets would emerge the vision of this government, which would be shared with the people.
He regretted the fact that processing of cases in the ministries and departments were unduly prolonged.
All cases must be expeditiously processed and promptly decided. He said that the Prime Minister Secretariat would take the lead in this regard by significantly reducing the turnaround time for cases submitted to his secretariat.
Shaukat underlined the law and order situation with particular reference to Wana, the recently concluded Pakistan-India talks in New Delhi and shortage of irrigation water as issues, which need Cabinet attention.
He asked the interior, foreign affairs and water and power ministers to brief the Cabinet on these issues.
Briefing the Cabinet on law and order situation and the operation in South Waziristan, Interior Minister Aftab Ahmed Khan Sherpao informed the meeting that the government was following a two-track approach in dealing with the foreign militant groups in the tribal areas.
While the military was responding to the activities of the militants, the NWFP governor and the political administration were engaged with the tribal elders in resolving the issue amicably, he said.
On the issue of Balochistan, the prime minister said that a Senate committee on Balochistan might be constituted without further delay to enable the government to benefit from its deliberations.
Briefing the Cabinet on the current shortage of irrigation water in the country due to substantially low rainfall this year, especially in the catchment areas, Water and Power Minister Liaquat Ali Jatoi said that although the situation was not good, the shortage would be suitably managed to minimise any adverse impact on the Kharif crop.
He said that steps would also be taken for efficient management of the available water for the Rabi crop. The minister said that the provinces are sharing water shortage with consensus and there was also a slight improvement in the inflow at Tarbela.
Responding to the briefing by foreign affairs minister on his recently concluded talks in New Delhi, Prime Minister Shaukat declared that Pakistan would go along with the dialogue process with sincerity and commitment.
Peaceful co-existence, he said, was essential for all countries of the region. He, however, emphasised that Pakistan would always clearly and explicitly reiterate that the issue of Indian occupied Kashmir lay at the heart of the Pakistan-India relations and must be resolved in accordance with the aspirations of the Kashmiri people.
The prime minister said that he had also drawn a distinction between terrorism, which must be condemned and encountered and movement for freedom, which deserved international understanding, sympathy and support.
Pakistan, he said, expected the dialogue process to move ahead purposefully and in that context it was looking forward to President Musharraf's forthcoming meeting with Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in New York.
It was also looking forward to other levels of engagements between both the countries.